How Aziz Ansari’s comedy changed

He whips out the “millennial” voice in his new Netflix standup special but has also transformed prematurely into an older, ‘wise owl’ persona

As a comedian, one of Aziz Ansari’s biggest strengths has always been his ability to skewer the hypocrisies of both millennials and boomers — often during the same routine. He does this fast-paced, high-pitched voice for millennials and a suitably faux-gruff one for their parents. At the delivery level, it’s not as skillful as, say, (Dave) Chappelle, but the writing is generally excellent. In Ansari’s latest Netflix standup special,Nightclub Comedian(filmed a few months ago in New York’s Comedy Cellar in front of a very small audience), one such routine talks about how a lot of working-class Americans are leaving their oppressive industrial jobs because of poor working conditions and wages that have been stagnant for over a decade. And as Ansari points out, Covid-19 has only made things worse.

“Have you ever been to a Chipotle in Pennsylvania right now? It’s intense! It’s like the Chipotle’s got Covid (…),” Ansari says, before launching into a hilarious parody of a hassled Chipotle manager. “We don’t have any guacamole! There’s an avocado shortage and our guacamole guy quit last week and now he makes $50,000 making guacamole videos on TikTok.”